Backers of a proposed ballot initiative to end marijuana prohibition in Massachusetts launched a St. Patrick’s Day-themed billboard Monday that highlights the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol.
The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol will hold a news conference today at 12 p.m. ET in front of the digital billboard, which faces Seaport Blvd. on the south side of District Hall. The ad will run through Sunday, March 20, when local and state leaders will gather for the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast at the nearby Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
The billboard features a green beer, a glass of whiskey, and a marijuana leaf below the words, “Beer,” “Liquor,” and “Safer,” respectively. It directs viewers to RegulateMass.com/Safer, which details several ways in which marijuana is significantly less harmful than alcohol to the consumer and to society.
“Our goal is to make this year’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities as educational as they are enjoyable,” said CRMLA Campaign Manager Will Luzier, who previously served as executive director of the Massachusetts Interagency Council on Substance Abuse and Prevention. “While folks are celebrating with a pint of green beer or a glass of whiskey, we want them to think about the fact that marijuana is an objectively less harmful substance.
“Marijuana is less toxic than alcohol, it’s less addictive, and it’s far less likely to contribute to violent crimes and reckless behavior,” Luzier said. “It simply doesn’t make sense to have laws that allow the use of alcohol, yet punish adults who prefer a less harmful substance,”
WHAT: News conference to launch St. Patrick’s Day-themed billboard highlighting the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol
WHEN: TODAY, March 14, 12 p.m. ET
WHERE: In front of the billboard, which faces Seaport Blvd. on the south side of District Hall, 75 Northern Ave., Boston
WHO: Will Luzier, CRMLA campaign manager
Jim Borghesani, CRMLA communications director
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Source: The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is supporting a 2016 statewide ballot initiative to end marijuana prohibition in Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://www.RegulateMassachusetts.org.
